Ozzy Osbourne ‘Couldn’t’ Collaborate with Paul McCartney Despite Wanting to

Ozzy Osbourne still wants to collaborate with Paul McCartney — even though the latter doesn’t seem inclined to make it happen.

Speaking during a new episode of his SiriusXM show Ozzy Speaks, the musician, 76, opened up about his interactions with the Beatles bassist, noting that working with the legendary musician is high on his list of to-dos.

When the show’s co-host, Billy Morrison, asked Osbourne who his dream collaborator would be, it took the Black Sabbath frontman a total of one second to respond with “Paul McCartney.”

However, Osbourne quickly added: ‘I would be honored, but I couldn’t…’

Morrison doubled down on Osbourne’s hesitancy to duet, asking, “Why not? … Put it out into the universe. You never know.”

Osbourne then recalled meeting McCartney in 2001, saying, “He’s a really nice man. I was like, ‘Grrr.’ ”

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This is not the first time that Osbourne has brought up his affinity for McCartney and the Beatles. In fact, in a previous print interview that the former did with Heat Magazine, as reported by Far Out Magazine, he noted that he once pleaded with McCartney, 83, to play bass on one of his songs.

“Meeting Paul McCartney was f—— phenomenal,” Osbourne shared with Heat. “I was in the studio at the same time as him and tried to get him to play bass on one of my songs. But he said he couldn’t improve on the bassline that was there. I said, ‘Are you kidding? You could p— on the record and I’d make it my life.’ ”

In the past, McCartney has notably collaborated with the likes of Rihanna, Michael Jackson, Stevie Wonder, Kanye West, Dave Grohl, Krist Novoselic, Pat Smear and Dominic Fike, among others.

Unfortunately for Osbourne, the collaboration between himself and McCartney never manifested, despite running into his fellow musician on multiple occasions over the years and hoping that it would come to be.

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Though the chances of seeing Osbourne and McCartney together on a track seem low, fans of the former can get excited as he and the rest of Black Sabbath are gearing up to tackle their final show on July 5 in Birmingham, U.K.

Called the Back to the Beginning show, it will be the first time that Osbourne, guitarist Tony Iommi, bassist Geezer Butler and drummer Bill Ward will perform together live on stage in 20 years.

“It’s my time to go Back to the Beginning….time for me to give back to the place where I was born,” Osbourne said as a part of an official press release tied to the announcement, which was shared in February 2025. “How blessed am I to do it with the help of people whom I love. Birmingham is the true home of metal. Birmingham Forever.”